In today's world of
Google, memory as a function has been relegated only to the confines of servers
and computers. No one really wants to remember the fact, data and dates.
However anachronistic it may seem, I think, a good memory and a good method to memorize
is a key to become a lifelong learner. If you are unable to remember the key
take away from the lecture, if you are unable to state the exact clause in the
policy under consideration or if you are unable to recollect the punch line in
a joke, all that you have studied, learnt and imbibed is of no use.

I have a list of poems
that are my favorite. Leisure by W H Davies, Even this shall pass away by Theodore
Tilton, If by Rudyard Kipling and many more. These poems somehow speak to me. I
love the philosophy that they propound. I love what the poet wants to say with
those lines. So, as one of my long term goals, I plan to memorize the poems, so
that they become a part of me.

Over the last couple of
days, I have memorized the poem, Leisure. There are certain techniques that I
used to memorize the poem.

1. The first step was to read the poem
and understand some basic background about it. Understand who the author is, in
which context the poem was written, in which time period was it composed etc.
This background information helps to create a unique place in our memory for
the new poem. The poem, Leisure was written by William Henry Davies, a welsh
poet, which was first published in 1911. The poem is written as a set of seven
rhyming couplets. It talks about the business of life. It says that we need to
slow down, connect with nature and enjoy it.

2.How do you eat an elephant? - One
bite at a time. How do you memorize a poem? One line at a time. Take a print
out of the poem. Read the first couplet. "What is this life if, full of
care, we have no time to stand and stare". Memorize it. By its very
nature, couplets rhyme and are easy to remember. Take each couplet as a chunk
and remember it by repeating it again and again. Once you have mastered the
first couplet, move on to the second couplet and memorize it. Then, repeat both
the first and second couplet together.You may want to look at the book and read it once again.Then go for the third couplet and repeat the
first, second and third couplet together. Then look at the book and read it
several times. You have to follow this method till you reach the last
couple.It is like one memory chunk,
getting attached to another chunk to create a larger memory chunk. Slowly, you
will be able to recall one couplet after another and the complete poem in one
go.

3. Recollect the poem at various
times. Recall is a form of mini testing.
It helps us to learn better. When you are shaving in the morning, or when you
are exercising in the gym or when you are driving to office, try to recall the
poem. Recalling something at a different place and time that it was learnt,
helps to negate the influence of environmental cues and deeply ingrain the
material to memory.

4. If you get bored by one poem, you
can interleave your learning by trying to memorize another poem. I tried
memorizing ‘Even this shall pass away’, along with Leisure. This helps in even
better access to the stored memory in your brain.

5. Perform spaced repetition. Do not
repeat the same poem over and over again throughout the day (You can do that!
But it may not be effective). Rather, repeat the poem over several days. Say,
first on every day of the first week, then every alternate day in the next
week, then every 3 days in the third week and so on. Spaced repetition helps
jog the memory. It has an effect of bringing the poem from our memory warehouse
to our working memory. Moving the chunks of memory from long term to working
memory helps in consolidating and committing the material in our brain forever.

Friends, the internet
and Google can bring all information to your finger tips. But unless you are able to hold large amount
of ideas and concepts in your mind, cross pollinate them with your experience
and rinse them with the wisdom from your long term memory, you will not be able
to create something new, something astounding and something amazing!

American poet Robert
Frost, in his poem, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening", had
penned these immortal lines. These lines provided the much needed inspiration
to the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru. In fact, as the story
goes, these were the lines that were found on a scrap of paper on his desk when
he died - presumably the last words he saw.

While these lines are
prized for their figurative meaning, Robert Frost and
Jawaharlal Nehru, could have been a bit more aware of the importance of sleep.

~~~~o~~~~

It was a night I will
never forget. The next day was the dreaded POM - I (Production & Operations
Management) final exam. It was the last day of the term exams and in spite of
whiling away my time throughout the term, I wanted to ace it. So, I was
studying hard. In fact, I was running from pillar to post - from one room to
another, in search of a knight in shining armor, one who could resolve my
doubts, explain few of the problems how they were solved and identify some more
that I could practice for the exam.

POM I was taught by
Professor Sahu, a young man, who had returned from the US with a doctorate
under his belt. He had a reputation of posing really tough questions in the
final exams. He had a penchant for problems. And problems were something I was
afraid of. Ask me the theory, and somehow, I could wing something closer to an
answer in the text book. But with numbers, I was always numb!

My friend Ajay dropped
in to check how I was doing. Ajay was the cool, unruffled guy. With a
devil-may-care attitude, he was like the Buddha. He saw the fear in my eyes. "Don’t
worry Dude. Everything shall pass away!” he said. "Yes, everything shall
pass away, but will I pass this POM-I?” I wondered. Ajay patted my back,
nodded in assurance, pointed me to Rajiv, and strolled away.

Rajiv, my meticulous corpo type roommate was stretching
himself on his study chair. He had just finished his revision. "Rajiv, are you done?" I
asked. "Yes!", he said emphatically. "Can you help me with some
important problems?" I asked hesitantly. Rajiv was somehow gracious enough that
night. He outlined 30 problems for me from 8 chapters and even gave me his
notebook where he had solved them. Yes, Got IT!! I said to myself. I will now
ace the exam!

It was 11 PM. The test
was at 9 AM. So, I had 10 hours with me. 10 hours, 30 problems so, 20 minutes
for each, I deduced. I decided to go for
a night out and smash the POM-I exam.

When Rajiv woke up at
8:00 AM in the morning, I was still poring over the solution. I have had
several cups of coffee and solved most of the problems. I had got a hang of the
different type of problems. I was fairly confident of cracking the test.

As I walked to the
class that morning, my eyes hurt. I felt that the 9 AM sun was somewhat
brighter than other days. Effect of the night out, I thought. I will finish the
test, come back and crash throughout the day.

There was a tense air
hanging in the exam hall. I felt everyone was busy on their own. Like a robot,
I greeted few people and responded back to them. I took my place at the right
hand corner of the room, waiting anxiously for the question paper to be
distributed. Soon, I got the papers. I glanced through it quickly, mentally
marking out the easy, theoretical ones that I would tackle first. I realized
that there were 3 subjective and 3 problem-solving based question. I started
working on the subjective questions. They were supposed to be easy for me. But
I had to strain myself. Somehow, the words were not flowing out smoothly from
me. I had to stop, think hard and focus on it. I lost my train of thought and
re-gathered them several times. I was wondering why this was happening. But
with a firm focus on finishing the task at hand, I answered them.

Then I moved on to the
problems. I read the first question. I grappled with the numbers, my nemesis. I
could figure out that they were from the 3rd chapter. But I was not able to
crack it. I decided to skip it and move to the next one. That one was easy. I
started solving it. But towards the end, I could not figure out the next step.
I was almost close, but not yet. So, I moved on to the last problem. Again, it
was very frustrating as I knew which chapter it was from. I knew the overall
concept. But somehow my mind was not clear. I attempted it based on my
conceptual knowledge and gave it my best shot, which I somehow felt was not
good enough.

The rest of the day, I
was moving like a zombie. I had not done well in the exam and it was not
allowing me to sleep. Later in the day, I slept like a log. I woke up only on
the next morning. That morning, when I looked at the question paper, it seemed
like a piece of cake. I was amazed.

Have you ever felt like
that? A good night's sleep and then things falling in place.

Modern research proves
that sleep is an essential factor in learning. When we are awake, some toxic
products are created in our brain. But, when we sleep, these toxic products are
washed away from our brain. This helps us to think clearly when we are awake. Thus,
if you take an exam after a night out, you have bits of poison and toxins
running around in your head which make your thinking hazy. Too little sleep
creates more problems in life. We may have stress, high blood pressure and
anxiety. If we are sleep deprived for days together, we will have problem
learning and remembering different things.

During sleep, our brain
consolidates our learning and memory. It goes over and over difficult concepts
that we are grappling with. Sleep after learning allows brain cells to connect
with other brain cells, there by strengthening the learning and moving the
ideas learnt from short term memory to long term memory. Dreaming, on the
things that you have learnt, in your sleep, makes the learning permanent. In
fact, experts recommend using forced dreaming technique. In it, you grapple
with a difficult problem or concept just before you go to sleep, then think
about it while falling asleep. There is a high chance that you will dream about
it in your sleep. And you may even understand the concept clearly or solve the
problem that you were grappling with in your sleep. In fact, modern research has shown that when people imagine practicing a skill or sport in their dream,
their performance in that activity improves in real life.

Even after I have
understood the importance of sleep in learning and memory, some habits are hard
to go by. One such habit is doing a night out before the exams. We all feel that unless
we put in a night out, we have not put in the required effort and hours to get a good grade.
For all of us who have the difficulty of shedding this habit, the celebrated
American poet Robert Frost penned these lines:

Two roads diverged in a
wood, and I—

I took the one less
traveled by,

And that has made all
the difference.

~~~~o~~~~

Try something different
before the next exam. Don’t go for a night outer. Get a good night’s sleep. Sleep
well. Trust me, you will do well!

It is 10' O Clock on a Tuesday
night. I go to check what Rajiv, my room mate is up to. To my horror, he is crouched
over his study table, furiously working on something. "Rajiv"...He
does not listen to me. "Rajiv, what’s up man?” I go and look closely.
"Hey, is this the POM-I assignment. Dude you didn’t even tell me. When is it
due by the way?”

Looking up from the table Rajiv
says "10 AM Tomorrow morning"

Rajiv is our class topper. He
does everything in time. I am sure you have one such fellow in your friend list
- calm, composed and corporate type. Ever ready with that sly smile on his
face. And you always curse him under your breath for him being super smart.

10:02 PM: I go back to my study table and switch on the study lamp.
I get my POM-I book, the assignment papers, my notebook, white sheets and my
Lucky Mitsubishi Pen. Arranging everything on the table, I feel I should have a
mug of coffee to keep me going and concentrate on this.

10:15 PM: With the coffee mug on the table, I read the assignment
papers and feel that I need to study the chapter in the book. I open the book
laboriously and somehow I don’t feel like reading it. I stare at the pages
blankly trying to make myself read the content. Suddenly, someone knocks at the
door. I give a sigh of relief. My friend
Ajay is there. Ajay is a darling. He is always miles away from his books. He is
never bothered about his grades or assignments. He is a jolly good fellow, ever
with a big smile on his face, an eager helping hand and an ear that he lends to
anyone.

Ajay has some work at the student
center and wants to know if I can accompany him. I think that is a good idea as
I will get some fresh air and come back and finish my assignment.

12:00 AM: At midnight, we are back from the library. Now we are lounging
near the canteen. There are a bunch of folks and we are having a good time.
Someone reminds me of the assignment. I assure myself that I will finish it in good
time.

2:00 AM: Its 2 in the morning and I am back to my room. Rajiv is
fast asleep. The assignment papers are lying on the table. I tell myself that I
have to do it now. I spend the next 10minutes struggling with it. It does not
make a dent in my head. I deduce that I am too tired now to fight with it. Better
sleep now and try that in the morning with a fresh mind.

8:00AM: I wake up. Rajiv, my room-mate is getting dressed. He
has this smug smile on his face. He reminds me of POM-I. I press the panic
button. The first lecture of the day is at 9:00. I have to finish my assignment
in 1 hour. Without even getting out of bed, I jump on the assignment papers. I
try to solve the problems as much as I can. It is 8:45 AM now. I am still on
question 3. There are 2 more to go. I am sure; I will not be able to finish it.
The POM-I assignment is very important and carries 10% weight. Also, I did not
get good score in the last assignment. Have to do this one well. I need to
finish it any cost. I decide to bunk the first class. 55 minutes later, I am
done. I have to rush to the class to
submit it. With just a few minute to spare, I hand over my assignment papers,
SHIT - Some How In Time.

I am sure many of you would have
been through similar situation at different times. Even though we know that something
is important, we keep postponing it till the last minute. Sometimes, we may
even do a shoddy job, or worse even miss our deadline because of this. The technical term for this is
procrastination. The reason we procrastinate is because in the heart of our
heard, we somehow dread doing it and always look for opportunities not to do
the difficult task, even if it may have negative consequences. Procrastination
often, becomes a habit by itself, albeit a bad habit. It is said to be one of
the biggest obstacles to reach our goals. Procrastination is a big impediment
to learning. So, why do we procrastinate?

As students, we have few specific reasons
why we procrastinate:

oWe are overconfident of our ability. We think we can finish the task in a short
time

oWe underestimate the time taken to do something

oWe feel the time, mood, situation is not right
to do it

oWe think a bit of pressure will do good

oBoring, uninteresting work. We never
procrastinate going to the movie!

Fortunately, there are some
proven techniques to deal with procrastination.

1. Create a TO-DO list: This
technique helps you by freeing up your working memory and putting things in
perspective. Many times, things on paper look much smaller than what they
appear to be in our head. Then prioritize the to-do tasks. A good way to do it
(as per Stephen Covey) is to put them in an urgent and important matrix. Tackle
the urgent and important ones first. As Prof. Barbara Oakland says, it is a
good idea to create a TO-DO list the night before and sleep on it. It gives time
to the brain to work on certain items in the diffused mode and get some breakthrough.

For certain type of tasks; it is
advisable to schedule a very small chunk of time in your daily routine. For
example, if you want to start a habit of running, and it seems a big daunting
task, you may just schedule 10 minutes of time to run every morning. A 10
minute run is not very difficult. But once you start doing it, the positive
habit of routine takes over and within a few weeks you would be looking forward
to your run. This technique can also be used for writers writing books, papers
or blogs.

2. Eat that frog: Start
doing the most difficult and dreaded task first thing in the morning. As Brian Tracy
says, if you have to eat the frog, it does not make any sense to keep staring
at the ugly frog and thinking how distasteful it will be. You should rather take
a deep breath, put it in your mouth and start chewing.

3. How do you eat an elephant? – One bite at a time: Most of the time, the task in front of
us seems very large. It is like scaling the Mount Everest. So, how do you scale Mount Everest? Well, One
step at a time. Similarly, if you have a big task at hand, reduce it to smaller
pieces. Then tackle each piece one at a time. Breaking down the task to smaller
manageable chunks helps to reduce the enormity of task at hand. We can then
accomplish each portion one after the other.

4. Another way to stop procrastination is by having an accountability
partner. You may have a friend ask you on a daily basis if you went for your
run or not. Else, post your goal on your Facebook page and tell your friends to
ask you about it. That will create the sense of responsibility that you need to
do the task. Publicly displayed progress charts and various Smartphone social apps
that are available today also serve similar purpose.

5. POMODORO Technique: Set
up a fixed time frame to do the task that you have to do. Try to obstruct all
other distractions and focus on the task only. Give yourself a reward after spending
the fixed time on the task. Also, focus on the process and not on the product. This
would help you get going and you will find yourself making good progress.

In spite of applying all these
techniques, you may still slip into procrastination. Be aware and watch
yourself. Have a Plan B, should this happen.

Procrastination is like an
endemic. It grows. It grows from your academic tasks to personal and
professional tasks. It is quite common among many people. If you are a
superstar like Rajiv, always prompt, always ready and always prepared, you don’t
have a problem. You don’t have to read this blog and apply these techniques. You
are able get everything quite easily by virtue of your good habits. If you are a
rock-star like Ajay - casual, carefree and cool and have a devil-may-care
attitude, you do not need this either. You don’t care if you get anything or
not. But, this lesson on how to deal with procrastination is for the vast
majority of mortals like me, who are somewhere in between the two extremes. We
are the ones who always keep trying. Trying hard for everything. We are the
ones who need to stop procrastinating. We need to do it as procrastination is
the only thing which stands between us and our goals. It is like a bad habit
that grows slowly. We may not realize it until we find ourselves in deep soup.
Hence, we need to shake off the inertia and take action. We need to do it, NOW.

Live.Love.Laugh.Learn

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About Me

You: "Well...Sorry, I could'nt get it. Can you please tell that again?"

Me: Never mind! To cut a long name short, I am Braja. Trust that is better. I live in Hyderabad, India with my wife and daughter. I am passionate about reading, writing, running and lately toastmastering... I blog about general musings and random thoughts. I try to live my life well, with lots of love and laugh, learning small new things everyday and finally leave the world a little better.

In another avatar, I work with Capgemini. You can find my professional credentials here.